Constant bloating/excess gas, esp after eating

[Appa Yip Yip]

Hi all. About a week and a half ago, I developed sudden intense bloating and excess gas, worse after eating. After I eat, even a little bit, my stomach sticks out so much it looks like I swallowed a balloon and I feel short of breath. I also get full really fast and my pants feel uncomfortably tight :( It came on suddenly after forgetting to eat all day while caring for my son, and then devouring a large fish sandwich from a local restaurant. I was also very stressed that day. Since then, I have had constant gas and bloating, even in the morning before eating, but it's MUCH worse after I eat.

I wanna say that the bloating hasn't been AS bad the last few days, but the crazy excess gas is still there - CONSTANTLY burping and farting (lol) even after a light meal. Doesn't matter what I eat. I also get gas-type pains in my stomach but even in my pelvic area, as though the gas is moving down and hurting the whole way down. And yesterday, I had diarrhea immediately after eating both breakfast and lunch.

I've been taking the maximum dose of Gas-X and Zantac for days now with no relief. I'm starting to get really worried. I've had things like this flare up at random over the past year or so (a few months ago, same thing happened for 5 days but without the bloating) and I'm starting to fear some type of sinister cause. Before this started, I just happened to read an article on HuffPost written by a 36-year-old woman who was days away from dying of bowel cancer. It was her last post and she left two young children. Now that's all I can think of. My greatest fear in the world is leaving my precious son without a mommy.

Does this sound like cancer? Could ovarian/uterine cancers cause this or is it limited to bowel/stomach cancer? What are the chances this isn't totally life-threatening? (I'm 30 years old, female.) Please help, I'm really worried.

[Dedre88]

Hi there.

I know it's hard but try not to worry.

It's worth making an appointment to see your doctor to get checked out, not because it sounds like there's anything wrong, but because it's more than likely a benign (but very annoying) problem that can be resolved with some OTC medicine.

For every symptom that could be caused by cancer there are a hundred other, far more likely causes, in this case; stress, ibs, or just an upset stomach.

Go see a doctor and try not to let it get you down.

[cerridwen]

It sounds like anxiety-related irritable bowel to me. Really, at your age it is VERY unlikely to be anything else. You could try high strength acidophilus supplements, these can rebalance your gut flora so that bloating and gas is eliminated.

[wnsos]

That article really shook me too. I hadn't thought anything of BMs or BC until this all kicked off and I've read this and another Lynda Bellingham one that have made me worry a lot in the last week or so. Its my own fault for reading them but our brains know what scare us the most and that's the worst part. Is Zantac anything like omeprazole? Because that makes me constipated and bloated really badly. I'd get an appointment with the doc and go in there knowing you'll trust them and believe them. HA seems to spiral when we don't know how. Take care xx

[Appa Yip Yip]

Thanks, everyone. I'm really hoping this is just IBS. Again today after eating lunch, I had diarrhea immediately after (like 15 minutes after). Same thing I ate last night and was fine then.

This is day 10 now and I've been bloated and burping/farting (sorry, tmi) constantly since this started. Today I swear I could pass for 3 months pregnant, I seriously look larger around the belly button and tummy. I'm so, SO worried about this being cancer-related or otherwise serious :(

I have an appointment tomorrow with my GP. Just afraid she'll be concerned and want to run scary tests or ship me off to a GI doc who'll want to do a colonoscopy to check for colon cancer, etc... Ugh, I hate this :weep: